Teen Arrested for Threatening to Rape Indian Cricketer MS Dhoni's Five-Year-Old Daughter - Report

Cricket – the quintessential "gentleman's game" – is much more than just another sport in India, with many ardent fans looking on it almost as a "religion". Because of this, players often find themselves subject to a barrage of abuse which is most decidedly "not cricket", if they fail to perform.

A 16-year-old boy from India's Gujarat state has been detained by police for posting an outrageous threat that he would rape the five-year-old daughter of MSDhoni, the former Indian national cricket team captain, Hindustan Times reported.

At present, Dhoni, along with several other international cricketers, is playing in the Indian Premiere League (IPL) tournament hosted in Dubai because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a recent match, the team led by Dhoni, the Chennai Super Kings lost the Kolkata Knight Riders, owned by Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan, prompting the Gujarat-based teenager to join the troll army and post obscene comments about Dhoni’s daughter Ziva.

The detained teenager is a 12th standard school student. During police questioning, he confessed to being responsible for posting a rape threat against the five-year-old on the Instagram account of Dhoni’s wife, Sakshi, reports say.

An official police complaint against this comment was lodged in Dhoni’s hometown Ranchi which means that the teenager will be handed over to the officials there to decide any further course of action, according to the Hindustan Times on Monday, which cited police officials from Gujarat who have detained the youth.

The rape threat has stirred an alarming controversy in India especially after the dreadful gang rape incident in the Hathras district that led to the death of a 19-year-old girl from the Uttar Pradesh village. 

Disgusted and shocked to hear that Dhoni's five-year-old daughter is getting rape threats because he didn't play well enough in some match.
This country is too comfortable threatening women of any age, at any time, for anything... even if it has nothing to do with them.

— Andre Borges (@borges) October 9, 2020

Dhoni's daughter Ziva is getting rape threat jst coz he didn't played well in IPL.
Where r we heading as a nation? Do these mentality ppl actually be permitted to breathe in society? Is this freedom of speech? Can't they be hanged on the crossroad? Can't they jst go to hell?

— yashi Ojha (@yashighanshyamo) October 10, 2020

12th class student reportedly gave rape threat to Dhoni daughter. Dear parents, pls pay more attention to ur kids.

— Moupia Nandy (@MoupiaNandy) October 11, 2020

​For now, security measures have been taken to protect Dhoni’s farmhouse in Ranchi, Jharkhand, where his wife and daughter live.

Police security has been deployed outside #Dhoni's farmhouse in Ranchi after r@pe threats to his 5 year old doughter Ziva. Shameful & speechless.💔😓#girlchildday pic.twitter.com/PATTLr95b0

— Usman Ansari (@Mr_UsmanAnsari) October 11, 2020